April 28, Napowrimo 2026. Today’s inspiration is Victoria Chang’s poem, “The Lovers.” It’s a short and somewhat shocking, possibly surreal that ends with a very direct statement of a “truth.” Its form is six lines, three sentences with a title that works for the poem but is only obliquely related to its text. Our aim today is to try writing a poem that follows the same beats: three sentences, six lines: statement, question, conclusion.
I’ve had a quite productive mind this April and have been collecting seeds for later cultivation. Some of the crop has borne dark fruits. The first two respond to today’s prompt. The final one is an attempt at fun (call it balance) to create a poem that grows in syllables line by line from 1 – 10.
Some days the desire to fly
Departs on a different flight.
See the empty seat there,
In row seven by the window?
We mourn the sight
Of clouds below our feet.
Lodgers
Uninvited stowaways hijack safe houses
Of consideration and muse.
Who lets repugnant squatters
Inflict paint on the walls of their home?
Expression can feel unsafe rent
When paid to untrustworthy landlords.
No achoo haiku
Spring
Brings rain
And bitter
Sweet blossom’s blooms,
That illuminate
My senses and score my
Eyes with jagged rose thorns.
Busy are bee pollinators
Fertilizing my pollen hate sneeze.
Each year I count the cost of honey love.
Missives & Musings 